The Auror Department
by Blakstag07
Summary: This is the story of my life, recounted through the eyes of Hermione Granger.


Before I went to Hogwarts, I had always been thought of as intelligent. Well, it's not like that opinion changed after I went to Hogwarts as well, but that's not the point.

What I'm trying to say is - am I really that one-dimensional?

First year was most likely the simplest of years. True, Ronald Weasley enjoyed making fun of me, and liked to point out my friendless state.

But a few tears and a hairy troll managed to change all of that. Ron ended up becoming one of my best friends, as did Harry Potter, and things weren't all that bad from then on.

I spent a great percentage of second year in the Hospital Wing - partly as a werecat, partly comatose, in a sense. In this time, I had been mercilessly targeted as a "Mudblood", deemed unfit to breathe the same air as those of "pure" heritage.

Third year was one of my worst. My friends were against me, and with the added stress of taking every single subject available at OWL level, I was cranky as hell, and ridiculed for my intelligence many a time.

Fourth year was perhaps easier - yet only slightly. Harry competing in the Triwizard Tournament (against his will) had me stressed enough. But with Ron against him, it made it all worse.

This was the year I had my first date: Viktor Krum. Viktor was charming, sweet, an amazing national Quidditch player... and my first kiss.

Also known as the source of trouble with Ron.

Having been entirely engrossed with books my entire life, Ron had failed to notice that I was, in fact, a girl.

In a way... it made sense, and I was filled with self-doubt. Was I even slightly pretty?

Then the Yule Ball came, and I never questioned it again.

At the end of the year, however, all my problems seemed petty and miniscule compared to the very real threat of Voldemort's return.

Fifth year was spent in never ending fear. Umbridge instilled it at school, Voldemort did outside.

Forming Dumbledore's Army helped, but only a little bit.

Sixth year wasn't any better. Although Voldemort's return had finally been accepted by the Ministry, it only served to allow him free reign to wreak as much chaos as he possibly could.

It was also the year that Ron finally got himself a girlfriend. It was sickening, and bloody painful.

The way he would just throw her in my face... like it was some kind of joke I wasn't aware of.

But thanks to a mouthful of Felix Felicis and Harry's Invisibility Cloak, Ron and 'Lav-Lav' broke up, and all was right again.

Seventh year didn't really count, we were on the run and jumpy as hell, searching for the Horcruxes to defeat Voldemort and finally end the war - permanently.

Ron left us at some point, assuming that Harry and I were... together.

Which we absolutely weren't.

The time Ron was gone, I spent reading, crying, and attempting to hold my heart together. It was easy to set me off back then. The tiniest memory of Ron could rip through me, like a billion tiny papercuts.

After he returned, it was like nothing had changed, and I was whole again.

The final battle was what brought Ron and me together at last.

For two years, we were together, insanely in love and ridiculously happy... until something changed.

There was a crack, a chink in our relationship that I hadn't even known existed.

One day, we were talking, laughing, kissing and loving each other.

The next, he was in Lavender Brown's arms and it was like I had never existed.

If that was enough to put me off love... let's just say that I was never asked to be the Maid of Honor at any weddings.

The war changed everyone. Voldemort was gone; you'd have expected us to be all fine and dandy. But there was too much horror, too much pain, for any of us to go back to who we once were.

Amongst the most shocking of changes was Ginny Weasley. When she and Harry had first started dating, outside of the happy couple there was no one who found more joy in the fact than I.

However, after the war, the power and fame went straight to her head. She'd turned into the kind of person all of us despised so much. None of us could sincerely say we'd expected it. And none of us could believe that Harry was still with her.

Another shocker was Luna Lovegood. Her imprisonment at Malfoy Manor had made her different, more mature and less whimsical. Admittedly, it was a relief in the beginning to see a Luna with the semblance of sanity. But as time wore on, she became someone full of worries and misgivings. I couldn't remember the last time she had said something about Blibbering Humdingers. However, she had gotten together with Neville Longbottom, so we assumed she was somewhat, if not completely, happy.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was Draco Malfoy. Post-war, he'd done all that he could to convince everyone how much he regretted working for Voldemort, classifying his willingness as fear. Now, he worked side by side with Harry, trying to capture any surviving followers of Voldemort. Somehow, he still managed to rub people the wrong way. Few were willing to accept that Draco was finally on the right side.

I, myself, could hardly believe what I'd become now. I was still considered to be the brightest witch of my age, yet the war had left me with a bitter and cynical quality I hadn't quite been able to shake. I constantly doubted everything, from the temperature to the ingredients of a potion to myself.

Voldemort's defeat had resulted in another year of schooling for all those who had (or hadn't) studied under the reign of Snape and the Carrows. After this year, nearly all those who had been key players in the resistance movement had gone on to become Aurors.

Initially, Ron had decided to help the twins **(A/N: Fred doesn't die in this one) **out with their joke shop, and I ended up working in the Magical Creatures' Legislation, attempting to draft rights for all creatures treated unfairly by the Ministry in the past (such as werewolves, centaurs, giants, especially house elves). Soon, I'd realized that the work was too tame, as had Ron. Our days of being on the run and constantly watching our backs had left us wanting for more action, so we went through a streamlined version of Auror training and were now working in the Auror department.

Even after our split, we continued to work in the Auror Department. Recently, I'd been requested for an overseas mission entailing a group of vagabonds apparently torturing muggles.


End file.
